Have you seen the stunning holographic nails all over Instagram and Pinterest? If you want to create the amazing metallic rainbow holographic effect on gel nails at home you can do that with a holographic gel nail polish or by applying holographic nail powder over any color of gel polish. Holographic nail powder and gel nail polish have special metallic pigments mixed in that make them shift colors when the nails are viewed from different angles. And when these pigments are added over various bright and beautiful polish colors the nails start looking really gorgeous.
Here are the best brands of holographic nail polish and nail powder:
My top 3 picks
Best holographic nail powder brands
High-End
iMethod Holographic Nail Powder
This stunning holographic nail powder is imported from Germany.
It’s a salon-grade product that is easy to use at home.
iMethod powder is extra-fine, just 35 microns.
That means a small amount of it can really make your nails shine. So one jar will last for a long time.
The manufacturer promises at least 25 manicures from one jar.
And fine powder goes on extra smoothly.
The powder contains tiny glass particles that work like mini mirrors.
It also contains real silver instead of aluminum used in many other holo powders.
So the holographic rainbow effect is very striking even when you use just a tiny amount of product.
iMethod holo powder comes with an easy to understand instructions booklet.
The only downside is that 25 manicures are still not enough for this gorgeous product.
3 Holo Powders With Varying Degrees Of Fineness
Artdone 3-Jar Set
The Artdone set contains 3 holographic powders with various degrees of fineness.
The first one is very fine, with tiny, 15-20 um sized particles. It has the best mirror effect out of all three powders, with just a subtle holo effect.
If you apply it over any color of gel polish you won’t see the color underneath. The surface will be almost entirely mirror-like.
The second one has 35 um particles. It has a medium holographic effect.
This powder lets the color underneath show through a bit.
And the third one has the largest, 65 um particles.
It has the best, most striking holographic rainbow effect.
This powder looks best over colored gel nail polish because you can see the color underneath mix with the holographic effect. And it looks amazing!
Each jar comes with its own double-sided sponge applicator tool.
Even a little holo powder goes a long way. So the manufacturer promises that each jar contains at least 1g of product and that it can last for at least 100 manicures.
This set is perfect for trying out various degrees of the holographic effect on your nails.
Full Jar
Born Pretty
Born Pretty is a famous Chinese brand that creates amazing nail powders with various effects, including holographic, chrome, and unicorn/mermaid ones.
In addition to that, Born Pretty manufactures stamping kits and gel nail polishes with special effects, such as cat-eye, mood-changing, and mermaid polishes.
Born Pretty offers only one jar that contains 1 gram of silver holographic powder. It’s not part of a set and is sold separately.
The powder is really high-quality and has a fine and smooth texture. It’s easy to apply and looks really gorgeous.
You get a true mirror shine with a rainbow effect.
But if you use a color polish underneath it will still show through and blend with the holo look beautifully.
One of the best features of Born Pretty’s powders is that the jars always come packed almost to the brim.
Glitter Holographic Powders
Wenida 8-Jar Set
This set by Wenida contains 8 jars with various powders for nails. All powders come with glitter.
4 of the powders are holographic. They come in very beautiful and trendy colors: the traditional silver holographic, gold, hot pink, and navy (royal blue).
Other powders are chameleon mirror ones. They shift between two colors: red/blue, red/green, green/purple, and blue/purple. And they don’t have the holo rainbow effect.
In addition to the powders, you get 8 artificial nail tips and a double-sided silicone brush applicator tool.
This is an amazing glitter variety pack for creating many kinds of nail designs.
The powders are made of resin. They don’t contain any glass or silver particles. So they may not be as dazzling as the more high-end products. But they still do the job pretty well and look nice on the nails. Plus resin is non-toxic.
Nail Powders Kit
Modelones Set
Modelones brand is best known for its high-quality polygel nail kits.
But the company also makes gel nail polishes and nail art supplies.
This set contains 8 nail decor powders. One of them is holographic and the other 7 are chrome powders with a mirror effect. Each jar comes with a sponge applicator.
The holographic powder has a silver color and looks great when layered over any color of gel nail polish.
The polish color will show through a bit.
This powder is not a completely mirror-like one.
Other powders are mirror ones with colors like silver, gold, pink, blue, red, purple, and mauve chameleon.
All the powders have a striking shine and look really gorgeous.
The only downside is that some of the pots may come less full than others.
Another Nail Art Powders Kit
Beetles 8 Powders Set
This set of 8 nail powders by Beetles is very similar to the Modelones set.
It also contains one jar of holographic powder, 4 mirror/chrome powders in several colors, and 3 pearlescent powders.
Beetles is known for manufacturing non-toxic gel nail polishes, and the powders are also made from non-toxic synthetic resin.
Every jar comes with a sponge applicator.
Plus the set contains one bonus brush for removing excess powder particles from your nails.
The only downside is that only 3 jars contain 1 g of powder, while 5 other jars have just 0.5 g each. And the holographic powder is inside one of those little jars.
Powder With Applicator
Tomicca Pens
Tomicca holographic powder comes in a very easy to use applicator pen.
The pen is part of a 3 piece set.
Other pens in this set contain chrome mirror powders in gold and iridescent green.
Each pen has a cushion applicator tip. The cushion looks like the ones used on brushes for eyeshadow application.
So you can apply the powder to your nails and easily rub it in with this pen.
A big plus of this applicator is that no powder gets wasted and you can’t spill it.
These pens are a really convenient invention. Very beginner-friendly and a lot easier to use than the traditional jars with powder.
Super-Fine Holo Nail Powder
LilyAngel
LilyAngel holographic powder is another standalone product on this list.
You get a jar that contains 1g of silver holo powder and 2 sponge applicators.
The powder is extra-fine and creates a stunning laser effect with just a small amount of product.
It may look a bit too sheer over dark colors though. But you can fix this just by adding a bit more powder.
Colored Holographic Powders Set
Saviland 6-Jar Set
The Saviland set contains 6 holographic powders in different colors.
The colors are silver, gold, blue plus 3 shades of pink and purple. They all come with a diffractive holographic rainbow effect and a lovely shimmer.
The manufacturer recommends using them over colored gel nail polish.
And they would look especially dramatic over black gel nail polish.
Just a little bit of colored holo powder will go a long way. So use it sparingly. The product is very pigmented.
All the powders come packaged in cute gold-colored jars together with an applicator for each jar.
Large Nail Set Of Powders
Duufin 18 Colors
This Duufin set contains a whopping 18-jar collection of various nail decoration powders.
Most of the powders are mirror/chrome ones in different beautiful colors, like blue, purple, green, etc.
There are also several glitters, and only one powder is holographic.
The powders are made of resin.
This is a great starter kit for an aspiring nail artist.
A big plus is that every jar comes with its own double-sided sponge applicator stick.
But a downside of the Duufin set is that all the jars contain just a small amount of powder.
That’s why this set works best as a collection of testers.
So you can try out all kinds of colors, effects, and textures and see which ones you like the most before you make a commitment.
Pretty Nail Powder Colors
Ivetto 15-Jar Set
This is another large 15-jar set of nail art and decor powders.
Again, most of the powders are mirror/chrome ones and there is only one holographic powder.
This set doesn’t contain any glitter powders.
All the jars come with double-sided sponge applicators. So you get 15 applicators in one set.
These powders have really pretty colors. For example, hot pink, royal blue, emerald green.
So the Ivetto set contains trendier hues than the larger Duufin kit.
The powders are made of mica pearlescent powders.
Micas are fine mineral pigments. They’re shinier than resin powders and look really beautiful.
But again, the jars are not full to the brim in any of these large sets.
Best holographic gel nail polish
If you don’t want all the hassle that comes with applying holographic nail powder then you can use a holographic gel nail polish.
This kind of polish already has holo powder added to the mix so you can easily get a long-lasting holographic manicure.
However, the rainbow effect may be a lot softer than the powder look.
Holographic Gel Nail Polish
LeChat Hologram Diamond
LeChat is a high-quality professional gel nail polish.
The brand manufactures only one standalone polish color named Hologram Diamond.
It’s a silver color that contains holographic particles.
These particles have a very pretty rainbow sparkle and look absolutely stunning.
But the look is different from what you get with a powder. The holographic effect is more subtle and the glitter is more pronounced.
The gel nail polish comes with a regular nail laquer that you can use for quick touchups.
Ordinary Polish With A Special Gel Top Coat
Elite99 Holographic Gel Nail Polish
This Elite 99 set contains 4 holographic nail polishes in cool colors: blue, purple, dark blue, and silver.
In addition to that, you get a metallic gel top coat.
This top coat is necessary for creating the laser effect. And it’s different from a regular gel polish top coat.
The manufacturer’s instructions say that you should use it over the base coat layer and cure it under the lamp.
After that, you should apply one thin layer of the holo polish. But don’t cure it. Let it air dry a little bit. Apply the second layer of the polish. And then apply the top coat again and cure it under the lamp.
If you do all these steps correctly you’ll get the desired effect.
According to the manufacturer, this polish set is non-toxic and eco-friendly.
The downside of this set is that even though Elite 99 markets it as a gel nail polish set the color polishes appear to be ordinary polishes that air dry.
At the same time, the metallic top coat is a real gel nail polish product indeed.
And this is a very strange combination.
Still, when sandwiched between layers of gel top coat it does create the desired effect.
However, this combination may not be as long-lasting as the regular gel polish systems.
What are the holographic nail powder and holographic gel nail polish?
Holographic powders and polishes have a special holographic pigment added to the mix that creates the amazing diffractive multi-rainbow effect.
The pigment contains special metal particles.
It has a neutral color so polish manufacturers can mix it with any color of gel nail polish or powder to give them the eye-catching diffractive effect.
By the way, similar holo pigments are also used in car paint.
The holographic nail powder is not the same as dip powders. Don’t confuse these two kinds of products.
You need to rub holographic powder over any gel nail polish color. It’s used for embellishing nails and for nail art.
And dip powders are builder materials for acrylic nail extensions. And they aren’t holographic.
How to apply holographic nail powder?
The application process is really easy.
Apply any gel nail polish: paint on the base coat and two coats of the color polish. Cure them.
After that, take a no-wipe gel top coat. This is important, as you won’t be able to rub the holographic powder over a top coat that leaves a sticky layer.
Chroma Gel No-Wipe Top Coat
Chroma Gel no wipe top coat works really well with all kinds of nail art powders
Apply the no wipe top coat, cure it under the lamp.
Then rub the powder over the top coat with an eyeshadow sponge applicator, while the top coat layer is still warm from being cured.
After you cover the entire nail with the powder, brush off any excess product with a large nail brush.
Add another layer of the glossy no wipe top coat to finish your gel manicure. Cure it under the UV/LED lamp.
If you want to create an ombre holographic effect on your nails just apply the powder to the tips.
How to apply holographic gel nail polish?
Just like any other gel polish, unless the manufacturer’s instructions specify otherwise
You’ll need a base coat, a top coat, a holographic polish, and a UV/LED lamp for curing all these gel nail products.
Apply any gel polish base coat that you like, cure it under the lamp.
Apply one thin coat of the holographic polish. Cure it too.
If the polish layer looks too thin or has streaks add another coat of this polish for a better look and cure it separately too.
A third layer is usually not necessary because holographic polishes are pretty pigmented.
Add a top coat and cure it too. If the top coat is not a no wipe one then use some rubbing alcohol to wipe the stickiness off.
Make sure you apply all gel nail polish products, including the base and the top coat in very thin layers.
That way they would cure quicker and easier and stay on your nails longer and better.
They won’t form any bubbles under the lamp either, so they won’t peel off later in a few days.
Holographic nails are a great and simple design for a party or a night out. And your manicure will be the center of everyone’s attention if you use some holographic powder or gel nail polish.
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